Irvine's first Walmart opens – with a blessing

Nov. 28, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Shopper Julia Tang checks out the produce following the grand opening of the Irvine Walmart on Wednesday. The store, at 71 Technology Drive, is open 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Receiving Manager Darlene Gallagher, right, gives the Wal-Mart cheer during the grand opening of the Irvine Walmart on Wednesday. Gallagher has been with Walmart for 20 years. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Barbara Leventhal and her daughter Kim, from Irvine, look through a bin of movies during the opening of the Irvine Walmart on Wednesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Irvine High School band plays during the opening of the Irvine Walmart on Wednesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Shopper Michelle Pike, from Mission Viejo, looks at children's clothing during the opening of the Irvine Walmart on Wednesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Shoppers check out the new Irvine Walmart following the grand opening of the store on Wednesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Ignacio Ventura, of Laguna Hills, shops in the toy department during the opening of the Irvine Walmart on Wednesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Cashier Sal Yussof helps a customer following the grand opening of the Irvine Walmart on Wednesday. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The new Irvine Walmart, 71 Technology Drive, had its grand opening on Wednesday. The store is open 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Shopper Julia Tang checks out the produce following the grand opening of the Irvine Walmart on Wednesday. The store, at 71 Technology Drive, is open 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Walmart grant recipients

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are giving $43,000 in grants to area organizations in conjunction with the store opening. These include:

Working Wardrobes - $25,000

Families Forward - $10,000

Irvine Police Department - $1,500

Irvine Fire Department - $1,500

Irvine High School - $1,000

East Shore Elementary School - $1,000

Orange County Libraries - $1,000

The Energy Coalition - $500

O.M.I.D. Multicultural Institute for Development - $500

Orange County Korean Cultural Center - $500

South Coast Chinese Cultural Association - $500

Source: Walmart

IRVINE – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has more than 10,400 stores worldwide, but until Wednesday morning, there wasn't a single one in Irvine.

The doors to the 134,376-square-foot store at 71 Technology Drive opened early Wednesday with the usual fanfare reserved for the retailer's grand openings, including cake and giant checks handed out to local community groups.

After the Irvine High School marching band warmed up the crowd and the national anthem was sung, but before the standard Wal-Mart employee cheer, a pastor for Mariners Church asked and answered his own question as he blessed the store: Why would God care about a store opening?

Because of the provisions sold and the jobs created, Eric Heard told the crowd of employees, customers and marching-band parents.

"So God, we are grateful for this Walmart," he said.

The company assumed the lease and space for the Technology Drive location after The Great Indoors, a Sears offshoot, left last year.

"This used to be an empty shell," said outgoing Irvine Mayor Sukhee Kang, adding that he expected the store to enhance Irvine lives.

Irvine Councilman and incoming Mayor Steven Choi told the crowd he equipped his daughter's dorm room at the University of Michigan's law school three years ago thanks to a Walmart shopping spree that didn't empty his wallet.

"I'll be your shopper," he said to applause. Later, in between bites of celebratory cake, Choi said he expected the store to appeal to a wide variety of Irvine residents – those looking for affordable goods and those who could afford anything but still want a good deal.

Among the first shoppers were several who had normally journeyed to locations in Foothill Ranch, Laguna Niguel or Anaheim.

Bill Paulsen, 62 of Lake Forest, lives 1.2 miles away from the new Irvine Walmart.

"I clocked it yesterday morning," he said, as he walked in with a crowd Wednesday morning.

Shelby Patton, 32, of Irvine, pushed an empty cart – except for her 9-month old son, Hunter – through the store's grocery department, which features a deli and bakery. Before Wednesday, she had to choose between the Walmart near Disneyland and the one in Foothill Ranch once every couple of weeks.

"We've been waiting for it for a while," she said of the store. "I just like it because there are a lot of different things in one place."

Irvine eventually will have a second location when a Supercenter at 16555 Von Karman Ave. is complete. It's all part of the Arkansas retailer's growth spurt in Orange County.

The company's regional headquarters and more than 250 of its suppliers are based in Orange County, including Irvine television maker Vizio, company officials said Wednesday.

The Technology Drive store employs about 300 people. Quite a few came with Suhardh Mehta, the store's manager, from the company's Laguna Niguel location.

Richard Page, a sales associate in the hardware, auto care and sporting departments, joined Walmart looking for a better opportunity than he had as an automotive technician with Sears where his wages were reliant on commissions. The Santa Ana resident said he had already taken the test to become a store assistant manager.

The retailer is going toe-to-toe with another ubiquitous retailer in the city. Target has three locations in Irvine.

Maybe once a year, if that, Lizette Gonzalez, of Irvine, shops at Walmart. She said she was excited to learn that her city would be getting its first Walmart, but she was less than impressed with the ambiance after walking through the door.

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